The present invention relates to a hair-dye applicator or a hair dyeing tool including a fluid storage chamber defined within a container body and adapted to store a coating (hair-dye) liquid therein and a comb member disposed forwardly of the container body, wherein a valve mechanism is disposed between the fluid storage chamber and the comb member and the valve mechanism is actuated by a knock member disposed on the container body.
A discharging mechanism for a coating liquid to a comb member by releasing a valve of a valve mechanism is known in the art such as for example, a discharging tool disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication (Unexamined) No. S63-95504. In the discharging tool disclosed in this publication, a reservoir tank including a valve mechanism therein is disposed within a cylindrical member having a longitudinal axis such that the reservoir tank is slidably moved relative to the cylindrical member. A cap is attached to a rear part of the reservoir tank. By knocking or depressing the cap from the back of the cylindrical member, the reservoir tank is moved to release the valve mechanism so that a head hair cosmetic material stored in the reservoir tank is supplied to a brush.
However, the above conventional technique possesses the following problems. Since the cylindrical member and the storage tank are constituted of separate parts, a cost for the parts is increased and the working process for assembly of such component parts is increased, too. As a consequence, the cost of the final product becomes higher. Or otherwise, the cost of other parts must be reduced in order to maintain a reasonable price of the final product in the market. Reduction of the cost of other parts results in degraded performance of the final product. This is totally unacceptable, particularly as a container of cosmetic material, which is to be adhered to a human body (head hairs) and therefore taken care of from a hygienic point of view. It is very difficult to achieve the reduction of the cost of other parts without sacrifice of the performance.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. The subject matter of the present invention resides in a hair dyeing tool (hair-dye applicator) comprising:
a container body,
a fluid storage chamber defined within the container body and adapted to store a coating liquid therein,
a coating section having a comb member disposed forwardly of the container body,
wherein the container body is designed to serve directly as the fluid storage chamber, a valve mechanism is disposed between the fluid storage chamber and the comb member and a rear knock member disposed backwardly of the container body actuates the valve mechanism so that the coating liquid is ejected forwardly.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fluid storage chamber may include a liquid reservoir portion adapted to temporarily reserve the coating liquid so that the locating liquid is ejected from the fluid storage chamber by means of actuation of the rear knock member. The coating member may be provided on a peripheral surface thereof with a plurality of the comb members.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the coating member may include a plurality of longitudinal grooves formed in a surface thereof and the coating member may include a plurality of comb members formed on a peripheral surface thereof.
The coating member is allowed to extend through an interior of a basal portion of the comb member and capable of seeping the coating liquid out of a region thereof which is exposed from the comb member.
The coating member is provided in such a manner as to project from the liquid reservoir portion so that the coating liquid can permeate therein rapidly.
The coating member is slidingly moveable back and forth within the comb member(s) by means for actuation of the valve mechanism.
The coating liquid is directly permeated into the coating member from the fluid storage chamber by means of actuation of the rear knock member.